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The Colloquial Origin of Argumentation.
The Colloquial Origin of Argumentation. Argumentation, like all the other forms of writing, arises out of social life and social needs. Just as narration and description take their origin out of the need of conveying our experiences to others, so argumentation begins when we express our opinions and try to induce others to accept them. But the probabilities are that the persons to whom we are talking have opinions also, and it often happens that these opinions are different from ours, and so in conversation we often argue. Hence arises Argumentation which has two aspects : first, direct proof, that in which a speaker presents his own views ; and, secondly, refutation, that in which he answers the Objections or undermines the posi¬tion of his opponent. The literary form of argu¬ment which is nearest the conversational form is debate, the only difference being that in the debate each speaker presents his whole case in an orderly manner, without being interrupted by the other, whereas in a dialogue he must meet his opponent's objections at every step. The following is an example of Argumentation in dialogue: Urbs : "You must find it very annoying to be tied to exact hours of trains and boats," says Urbs to Rus, "and it is not the pleasantest thing in the world to be obliged to pick your Way through the river streets to the ferry, or wait at stations. However, you probably calculated the waste of time and the trouble before you decided to live in Frogtown." Rus : "Every choice has its conveniences, undoubt¬edly, but I concluded that I preferred fresh air for my children to the atmosphere of sewers and gas factories, and I have a prejudice for breakfasting by sunlight rather than by gas. Then my wife enjoys the singing of birds in the morning more than the cry of the milk¬man, and the silence at night secures a sweeter sleep than the rattle of the horse-cars. It is true that we have no brick block opposite, and no windows of houses behind commanding our own. But to set off such deprivations there are pleasant hills and wooded slopes and gardens. They are not sidewalks, to be sure, but they satisfy us." Urbs : "Yes, yes ; I see," says Urbs. "We are more to be pitied than I thought. If we must go out in the evening, we don't have the advantage of stumbling over hummocks, and sinking in the mud or dust in the dark; we can only go dry-shod upon clean flagging abun¬dantly lighted. Then we have nothing but Thomas's orchestra and the opera and the bright little theater to console us for the loss of the frog and tree-toad concert and the tent-circus. Instead of plodding everywhere upon our own feet, which is so pleasant after running round upon them all day in town, we have nothing but cars and stages at hand to carry us to our own doors. I see clearly there are great disadvantages in city life. If a friend and his wife drop in suddenly in the evening or to dine, it is monstrously inconvenient to have an oyster shop round the corner whence to improvise a supper or a dinner. It would be much better to have nothing but the village grocery a mile or two away. The advan¬tages are conspicuous. I wonder the entire population of the city doesn't go out to live in Frogtown." - GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS, Essays from the Easy Chair. SUGGESTIONS.- For what kind of life is each speaker arguing How does each answer objections to the other's position ? Tennyson's The Two Voices and Plato's Dialogues contain examples of argumentation in dialogue.